Muted
by Lapidot
Summary: It is the apocalypse and you are trying to survive, your lips and sides of your mouth stitched up. You are rescued by a group, but can you trust them?
1. Prolouge

The goggles you bore hung loosely on your face, the gas mask pulled up to your nose. You ran fast with your feet crunching the gravel every step you took. Negan's group were chasing you. They followed after you shooting, attempting to kill you. You had to get away. You jumped over a chain link fence and continued to run until you reach a fence wall. You look around to see that you have lost the group. You see a woman on guarding the large wall, she looked nice enough, and you needed help so you bang on the wall to try and get her attention. She looks down at you surprised before vanishing over the edge. The gate starts to open, and you hear "Put your hands up!"


	2. Meeting the Group

You gingerly raise your hands over your head. You stare at the two men who opened the gate. One had black hair, slicked back into a mullet. The other man was Asian? Maybe Korean. They beckoned you closer. Your feet trudged in the gravel as you slowly made your way up to them. The man with the mullet quickly patted you down and took your weapons. He tried to take your gas mask. You pulled away and tried to keep it on. He let go and motioned you to follow him. "My name is Eugene, this here is Glenn." You turned to look at the Korean man, who nodded at you. You nodded back in acknowledgement. "What is your name?" Glenn questioned and paused for your answer. You would not answer him, even if your mouth was not stitched up. His smile faltered and he just kind of stared at the ground. You approached one of the houses. You watched as Eugene knocked on the door. "It's Eugene, we got another one." The man that approached the door held a toddler in his arms. He handed the toddler off to teenage boy, who was missing an eye. "My name is Rick, please come in." He moved aside so you could step in. And you did.


	3. Rick asks the 3 questions

Rick motioned for you to sit on a couch, across from an armchair in which he took a seat. "What is your name?" You reached out for his hand, he withdrew it but then let you have it. You turned his hand palm up. You traced letters in his fingers. "M-y n-a-m-e i-s 1-6." Rick looked at you in confusion. "16? Like the number? Why did you write on my hand?" He bombarded you with questions. You shrugged to every question. You could tell he was getting impatient when he tapped his fingers on the armchair. "Ok, I am going to cut to the chase. How many walkers have you killed, how many people have you killed, and why." He outstretches his hand out to you again so you could communicate. You gently took his hand and traced the letters and numbers to his question. "T-o-o m-a-n-y… 1-6 m-e-n…" You paused after answering the second question and hesitated before writing with shaky hands "a-t-t-e-m-p-t-e-d r-a-p-e." Rick looked at you and his hard eyes softened. He cleared his throat before speaking again. "Would you like to stay here in Alexandria?" You barely lifted your lips in a smile before nodding. Rick stood up and you followed. "I believe proper introductions are in order, follow me." You followed him out the door and to the guard towers, seeing the woman who let you in. You smile before thinking to yourself. "I am going to like it here… also I need more thread…"


	4. Maggie, Your Savior

The woman climbed down from the tower before introducing herself. "Hi, I'm Maggie. I am glad you got in." You took her hand and shook it. Rick stepped forward before introducing me. "This is… uh… 16." Maggie furrowed her brows in confusion before shrugging it off. She smiled at me. "How old are you?" You were quite small for your age, standing at only 5'3. You gestured to her hand. "Give her your hand." Rick explained. You saw her hesitate before giving you her hand. You carefully traced your age in her hand. "1-7" Maggie looked up at you and smiled. "Rick has a son around your age." She turned to Rick. "She is 17, around the same as Carl. Have they been introduced yet?" Rick shook his head "We are getting there." You turned and bowed to Maggie as a sign that you were leaving. You turned and followed Rick back to the house. He opened the door for you before calling out. "Carl!" The boy you saw from earlier strolled down the stairs with the baby. "This is 16, I would like you to show her your room and make her feel comfortable." The boy nodded and motioned for you to follow him up the stairs.


	5. My Stitches, My Burden

Once in the room you turned as he closed the door. You took in the room and saw that it looked like a regular teenage room. You turned to him. The gas mask wobbling slightly as you moved. You saw him shift uncomfortably. "We are inside, um, you can take that off if you want. I can get us some food." You wanted to remove the mask, but your past flashes in your eyes. You are pretty hungry though. You hear your stomach grumble under your tattered shirt. You see Carl smile. "I will be right back, I will get you something to eat." You start to panic after the door closes. 'How am I going to explain this to him?' Your mouth was healing up nicely so you might be able to explain when you take your stitches out. You watch the door swing open as Carl came back in with jars of fruit and water. You sigh and see that you have no choice. You pull down the mask, and in the corner of your eyes you see Carl eye widen before running out of the room. 'Great.' Was all that you could think as you undo your stitches and greedily gobble down the food.


	6. Your Past Will Haunt You

It had to be at least ten minutes before the door burst open. Rick came into the room and grabbed your face. Your eyes widened. You had a fear of close contact with men after your run in with Negan's group. Rick examined your face, using his hand to turn your face side to side. He could not see it, but you were having a panic attack. Your breathing got heavy and you felt faint. You think Rick was talking to you, but everything was getting kind of blurry. You saw someone in the door, and recognized that it was Maggie. She came over and pulled Rick off of you. You saw them argue and Maggie come close to you before she wrapped her arms around you and held you close. You slightly relaxed in her embrace and heard her start to hum. You grasped her shirt in your hands and pulled her closer. After a while, your breathing returned and you felt way better. You loosened your grip on her and turned to look at her. "Are you O.K now?" You nodded and saw her smile. She shifted before standing up and offering her hand to you. You accepted her hand and was pulled up. You examined the room before noticing that Carl was in the corner, reading a comic book, Rick however, was not in the room. "Are you ready to go face Rick?" Maggie asked you as she took your hand. You nodded and followed her out of the room.

You headed down stairs and saw that Rick was relaxing on the couch with an African American woman. Maggie led you over to the seat across from him and sat you down. The other woman leaned forward and extended a notebook and a piece of charcoal out to you. You took it and turned to the first page. Rick looked at you. "I am sorry." You looked at him before looking at the notebook. You started to scrawl out your answer. "It is O.K. Things from my past haunt me." You could practically feel the stare turn to pity. "We all have pasts, good and bad, you don't have to tell us yours yet." You shook your head and took a deep breath before writing. "I want to."


	7. Your Time with Phillip

You sigh and lick your lips. Your tongue running over the holes in your lips from your stitches. You part out mouth slightly before clearing your throat. You could feel the cuts on the sides of your lips stretch and tear a slight bit. You looked at your lap and fidgeted with your shirt before beginning your story.

 _You could remember when you arrived at your first group. You mouth was in one piece, and you could still talk. It was a place called Woodbury, and the man running there called himself the governor. He was warm and friendly to you, and often invited you to come and drink with him. You were underage, but the world was ending, so that did not matter. You would drink and laugh with him. At least until one day, he started to talk about his family, how his wife was dead, however he had a "beautiful daughter" that he wanted you to meet. You wanted to meet his little girl and become friends with her, however when he led you to a closet like door and opened it to show you the girl with a chain around her neck and bag over her head, you stepped back into him. "Don't worry, she is very friendly, but she has a rebellious attitude." He pulled the bag off of her head to show that she was one of the dead. You grabbed his shoulder. "Phillip, she is dead." This made him mad. He swung around and hit you hard. "No, don't talk like that in front of her." He goes over to comfort her. You scoot back to escape. Once you successfully escape, you run back to the room that he gave you._

 _You did not hear from him for a few days, until one day he shows up on your doorstep drunk. "That bitch… She killed her… My precious little girl." He came in and wrapped you in a hug. "You know, I think of you like my daughter. Come, I want to show you something." You were reluctant to go with him, but his strong grip on you dragged you with him. Once in his room, he sat you down in a chair. He played with your hair, his fingers twisting it. "Penny…" He stood up and sauntered over to a nightstand where he pulled out a comb and ties. "Come here Penny." You wanted to protest that is was not your name, however slowly got up and walked to him, you did not want him to become violent. He sat you down in front of him and began to brush and braid your hair. He was gentle and calm about it. A man comes into the room and disturbs him. "The town is gathered for a fight to the death sir, just like you asked." You felt the Governor nod and follow after the man. At the door, he pauses and motions you to follow him before taking your hand._

 _It was a few weeks before the big fight. The governor cuddled and coddled you, making sure you had everything you could ever want. When the time came to fight with another group, the Governor wanted you there with him, he thought he could protect you. He did not believe that anyone other than him could watch over you. He had you sit in the tank while he did his dirty work. When shots were fired and the town was in a rampage, you silently escaped into the woods towards an unknown future._


	8. Dad?

_It had to have been at least a week before you came across a camp. It was full of men, so you tried to sneak past them, which is until you recognized someone. Your father stood there plain as day, a bat wrapped in wire hanging at his side. You tried to move closer to get a better look at him, and to your surprise, a branch cracked underneath your foot. Your father turned towards your direction. "Come out or we WILL shoot." You gently put your hands up and scooted around the tree into plain sight. You saw your father smile his wicked smile. "Ahh, my little girl, what do you know." He then turned to address his men. "Boys, this is my good for nothing daughter. Make sure she settles in real nice." It was hell from then on, the perverted men ganging up on you, beating you if you did not do as asked. It was torture, until one night you were stupid and talked back. You were sore from a recent harsh beating, and was laying on the floor of your father's tent. You could not move without being in agony. You father came in and kicked you. "Get up, we want supper." You lay in the same spot. "Did you not hear me you bitch? Get up and make supper!" He kicked you again. You just turned over and let the blood dribble from your mouth onto his tent floor. You heard your father leave, and hoped that he was going to forget about you, but you know that you were just too pessimistic. You heard your father enter the tent again dragging his favorite thing behind him. Lucille. He raised it about a foot from the ground before tapping it against your back. He took his foot and used it to turn your body onto your back. He crouched on top of you and dragged Lucille against your face. You squeezed your eyes closed and waited for his blow. "Look at me!" You felt Lucille graze your eyebrow, taking his time, your father let Lucille sink into your skin and let blood dribble into your eye. He smiled at you, "Not even a sound… tsk tsk…" he took one sharp prong of Lucille and slashed your lips in one quick motion. Your hands flew up to your mouth covering the blood waterfalling from your mouth, trying not to choke on blood. Your father stood up and left you there. Your lips were ripped, and you were losing blood fast. You were done with this bullshit. Tonight you were going to escape. That night, you looked at your arm, 16 long tally marks made their way down your arm. You had to keep count of how many made you feel dirty._

 _At the end of many countless hours and killing, you were done, you staggered up the steps and out of the camp, leaving your drunk, bastard father behind. You needed to find first aid and fix your lips. Luckily not after a while, you came across a hospital. It was nearly scrounged empty, but you managed to find needles and thread. Stitching your lips up, fixing your eyebrows, and finding new clothes, goggles and a gas mask, you were ready to go. And so you headed off into the sunset to survive._

"That is how I found you guys." You smiled weakly and looked around you to see the horrified faces around you. You then realized how many people had trickled into the room while you were engrossed in your story. You wiped your mouth and saw that you had reopened your cuts. You sleeve became drenched, and you felt dizzy. You saw Glenn come up to you and prop you up when you started to slouch forward. "Are you ok?" You were tired and just wanted to sleep. You felt Glenn lift you from the couch and a path formed to the front door. That was the last you saw before closing your eyes and letting go of consciousness.

A/N I am so sorry for not updating Thursday. I was not feeling well, and in the ER yesterday with a suspected blood clot in my brain. I am feeling much better now and have you lovely's a little extra!


	9. Waking Up

You woke up on a small bed in what seemed to be an infirmary. You reached your hands up to your face to find that your mouth was stitched closed again. You look to your left and see Maggie and Glenn cuddling in a chair together, fast asleep. You looked around the room, and saw that you were connected to a bag of blood. 'Where did they get blood?' you wonder as your eyes scan the room. You rolled over and sat up gently before swinging your legs over and placing your feet on the floor. You ripped the cord out of your hand and checked yourself over to make sure your clothes were still on. You frowned however, when you saw that you were changed into a pair of baggy pants and a tee shirt. You hoped that Maggie was the one to change you. You shakily get up and balance yourself on your wobbly legs. You make your way over a mirror on the wall and peered into it. You mouth was stitched nicely with surgical thread, however, your face was pale and your eyes with bags. Your legs collapsed underneath you W style. You pulled your legs closer to you and attempted to get up before finding that it was useless. You sigh to yourself. You were stuck on the floor, mute and uncomfortable, not to mention that you were cold. You spotted the socks on your feet and got an idea. You pulled one sock off and balled it up. You aimed your throw for Glenn's head… needless to say you missed. You pulled your other sock off and this time landed on target. Glenn stirred before opening his eyes and spotting your empty bed. He grabbed and examined what was thrown at him. You gently slapped your hand against the wall to get his attention.


	10. Getting Close

p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"You heard rustling as Glenn stood up from the chair. He repositions a sleeping Maggie before scanning the room. You slap your hand against the wall again. This time he spots you over at the corner. He makes his way over, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He crouches down next to you. "How did you get down here?" You shrugged your shoulders before pointing to your mouth. "Oh, yeah, that… hold on." He wiped his sweaty palm on his pants before offering it out to you. You traced on his hand. "I - - t o - s e e - f" You point to the mirror, which hung carelessly above your head. Glenn just nodded his head. "Ok, can you walk or do you need me to carry you." You reached out for his hand. He placed his big hand into your small ones. "F-a-i-n-t." Was all you wrote into his hands. You watched him stand up and stretch before bending down and scooping you up. You trusted Glenn, but you still grabbed onto his shirt. He lifted you up and slowly made his way back over to the couch with you. He sat down and shifted you in-between him and Maggie, where you promptly relaxed and fell asleep. /p 


	11. Meeting Daryl

p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"When you woke up the next morning, the sun was shining in your eyes. The first thing that you noticed was that Glenn and Maggie were gone and that you were sitting by yourself on the couch. You surveyed the room to see a tall, buff man standing by the door, he was cleaning arrows that belonged to a crossbow that swung on his back. You moved and stretched before standing up. Your legs were shaky, but you were able to walk this time. You made your way towards him cautiously. You were afraid that he might be mean. Glenn would not leave an angry man in charge of you… right? You walked towards him, silence in the air except for the creaking in the floor under your feet and the squeaking of rubbing of the arrows. You saw him look up and stop cleaning the arrows. "You are finally up eh? Glenn had a run to go to and Maggie had guard duty. How are you doing?" Of course he seemed oblivious to the fact that your mouth was stitched tightly shut. You just gave him a thumbs up. "I heard that your name is 16, what kind of name is that?" You made the motion of slitting someone's throat with your index finger. You saw him nod. "I totally get it…" He paused and put the arrow down and offered his hand to you. "Name's Daryl… Daryl Dixon." You hesitated before reaching out and shaking his hand. "Would you like to go get something to eat, you are probably starving." As if on que, your stomach grumbled. You smiled the best you could with the stitches and shook your head up and down. "Ok, follow me, let's get you some grub."/p 


	12. Oh God, Babies

p class="MsoNormal"Daryl had shown you the cupboard that they stored the food in. There was not a lot to choose from that you could have because your mouth was stitched. You finally settled on some fruit juice. You managed to get a small straw and stick it in between the corner of your lips. "I need to go and stand guard… are you good?" Daryl shifted his weight from one foot to the other. You nodded and gave him a thumbs up with the hand not occupied with the juice can. When you were half finished with your can of juice, you saw Carl waltz in with the toddler in his arms. He seemed fixated on something else and like a robot, plopped the baby in your lap. "Watch Judith for me." He mumbled under his breath before hurrying out of the house. Oh God, you were terrible with babies. Judith was her name huh? You re-positioned her on your lap and gently bounced her. You were afraid that your mouth was going to scare her, but she seemed just fine. You stood up and propped her up on your hip before leaving and forgetting the juice can behind. /p 


	13. Remembering

You look around in hope to find someone to hand Judith off to. Unfortunately you had no idea where you were going. You find a grassy spot outside and sit down, placing Judith on your lap. She reminded you of your older sister. Unfortunately, soon after the outbreak started she was bitten. You had to put her out of her misery. You remember sitting next to her hugging her body to yours. Judith's sandy hair and brown eyes reminded you so much of her. You could feel a lone tear stream down your cheek before dripping onto the dried green grass. You missed her so much, she protected you from your father during his outbursts, and she was like your second mother. You watched as someone walked by before doing a double take and back stepping towards you. They turn around and kneel closer to you. "Are you ok?" They gently pry Judith from your grasp before sitting on the sidewalk beside you. "My names Carol. Where is Carl, it's his turn to watch Judith." You made the motion of dropping something before walking away. You squirmed under her eyes and felt uncomfortable. You stand up abruptly before jogging off… and right to the guard tower. Your eyes scan for a familiar face. On the top were two women, Maggie and another woman you did not recognize. You needed comfort so you decided to climb up and get comfort from Maggie.


	14. Poor Eugene

p class="MsoNormal"You head towards the tower when you feel a hand on your shoulder. You jump and fling yourself around to find Eugene standing there. His hand removed from your shoulder. "Hey, would you mind helping me, it is my turn to get bags ready for the next outings, and I need someone else to help me." You breathe heavily and turn away from him. You feel his hand on your shoulder again. You flinch away from him and curl onto the floor. You press your hands on your head and start to have flashbacks about the times when your dad hit you, the men who used you and made you feel dirty. It all came rushing back. "Uhhh." Eugene stands there awkwardly before shuffling away. "I am gonna go get someone." You start to sob, the muffled whimpers coming from you stitched lips. You wipe the tears away from eyes. You try to focus your breathing but you had lost it. Your dam had cracked and finally broke free. You sat on the pavement, face buried in your knees. You gently rocked and hummed a lullaby that your sister would always sing. In the corner of your eyes, you saw Eugene coming back, Daryl at his heels. He makes his way over to you before sitting in front of you. He just sat there occasionally scooting closer until his knees touched yours. It was about ten minutes before he wrapped his arm around you. "Are you fine now, or do I need to get someone? As you can tell, I am not the best at comforting." You shook your head as you got his shirt wet. You felt him pull away. "Stay here, I am gonna get Maggie." /p 


	15. The Truth

You were drowning in your memories. All of the times you almost died, and the relief of when you were saved. No. You remember your father. That bastard wanted nothing from you. To him you were just a profit. Something that could be sold and used. You shiver and feel cold. You wrap your arms around your body. You hear footsteps near and your hands fly up to your head in an attempt to protect it. You make yourself as small as you can as you feel a hand touch you. You fly backwards and hold your hands out as a shield. You look up and see that Maggie is standing there, looking shocked and hurt. You scramble and cling onto her. You feel her shift and pull you closer to her. "Go get Rick." Eugene nods at her request and head off to find the deputy.

Maggie moves and brings her hands to your face to direct it at her. "Look at me. It is ok, you are fine, and we are safe. Nothing will hurt you... anymore…" She drifts off at the end and looks at you. You nod and take a deep breath from your nose. You can hear Rick approach from behind. "16, are you alright? What happened?" You reach up to your mouth and caress your stitches before carefully taking them out, leaving in the ones at the side of your mouth. "I can't… I'm sorry" You stand up, brush yourself off and hurry off, the sound of your name echoing in the air as you leave them. You find a small hiding place between some branches of a tree. You feel your arms and the scars that litter them. No, that was the past. You need to live in the present, heck, your father probably does not even know the group. You smile to yourself and lean against the tree. "I see you 16."

The voice startles you. You look down and see the one eyed teenager. He heaves his weight up the tree and sits across from you. "I am sorry about leaving Judith with you earlier. I was worried about a …. Friend." He smiles at you before moving closer. "16, answer me truthfully, is your father Negan?" The name made you cringe and nod stiffly. "Yes." Carl looks at the ground seeming worried. "Does he know that you are here?" You frantically shake your head. "No, no, no, you don't think I am with him do you?" Carl shifts uncomfortably under your stare. "My father thinks so. Maggie, Glenn, Daryl and I are on your side. Negan is so cruel. I can't imagine what you have been through. If you need anything, Alexandria will help you. Don't worry I won't let my dad do anything crazy." You give a small smile that strains the stitches you left in. Carl starts to climb down the tree. "I will leave you be, don't worry, I won't tell anyone where you are. Come down when you are ready, but just so you know you have half the town looking for you." You nod deep in thought as Carl starts to trot off. "Carl…" He turns around and smiles at you. "Thanks"


End file.
